The applicant is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,282, which issued on Jan. 5, 1993, for a dinner plate having an inclined surface. The '282 plate includes a food supporting plane having a plurality of spaced, parallel ribs with parallel troughs formed therebetween. While the '282 dinner plate works very well, one drawback is that food particles tend to accumulate in the troughs formed in the food supporting plane. Somewhat more care is therefore required to clean the '282 plate after each use as compared to conventional dinner plates.
Another drawback of the '282 dinner plate design is that the greasy drippings which collect at one end of the plate are not hidden from view and may be considered unappetizing by some users. Further, the provision of a collection area for holding the greasy drippings means that the entire plate surface is not available for serving, consuming or storing food.
The need has therefore arisen for an improved dinner plate having an inclined surface and which addresses the above shortcomings.